


Cosette and the Les Amis de l'ABC

by firebird_and_pegasus



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, but it is implied, but they are not actually dead, essentially, i tried to keep it as light as possible, if it is in the book/musical, it is referenced, nothing graphic, referenced illness, referenced injuries, while still being cannon era post-barricades
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-14
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:15:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 11,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26463265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/firebird_and_pegasus/pseuds/firebird_and_pegasus
Summary: My piece for Cosette week 2020! When the June Rebellion failed, Marius was told that he was the only survivor. Cosette has no reason to believe otherwise, until one of the 'dead' shows up at her garden gate under the impression that Marius was dead. Soon after, the other members of the Les Amis start showing up on Rue Plumet, bringing more friendship into Cosette's life than she had ever known before.
Relationships: Cosette Fauchelevent & Les Amis de l'ABC, Cosette Fauchelevent/Marius Pontmercy
Comments: 4
Kudos: 25





	1. Courfeyrac

Cosette had never gotten to meet a single one of the Les Amis de’ABC other than Marius before they all died on the barricades. Marius told her that his grandfather told him that no one else survived. He had no reason to think otherwise, and neither did Cosette other than the fact that there was just something about Monsieur Gillenormand that she did not like. However, she did not think that her slight wariness of him was enough to completely distrust him. She did not believe that even he would go as far as to lie about death until two weeks after the barricades fell when a warm sounding voice called her name from the gate of the garden. 

“Hello, Monsieur. Have we met?” she asked, putting her book down. She did not recognize the man, but he had known her name, so she figured that they must have meet in passing and she had forgotten or something like that.

“No we have not. I apologize for not introducing myself before now. I am Marius’s friend Courfeyrac.”

Cosette stared in shock, “I am sorry, but, Marius said, I mean, we believed…” She took a deep breath to collect her thoughts, “I apologize, it is just, we thought that you had died on the barricade.”

It was Courfeyrac’s turn to be shocked. “Did you say that you have spoken to Marius?” 

Cosette nodded, still reeling a bit from this information. 

“Since the barricade fell?” 

She nodded again.

“I had been told that he had died. He asked me to check on you and offer you aid if he died and I lived…” He shifted a bit, clearly unsure of what to do now that the person that he was supposed to be consoling her after the death of was not actually dead.

She placed her hand on the gate, “Who told you that he had died?”

“Gillenormand.” There was something about the way that he said the name that told her that he disliked him as well.

“He is who told us of your supposed death as well.” She said, her shock starting to mix with anger.

They were both quiet for a moment, digesting this information. Finally Courfeyrac broke the silence, “Pardon my language Mademoiselle, but that man is an absolute bastard. His lies do not surprise me in the slightest.”

“I quite agree with you, Monsieur. Wait here a moment. I will get the key to let you in. I think that we need to have a proper talk about this.”

Courfeyrac nodded, so she ran inside as swiftly as she could. “Papa, you will not believe it!”

She told him all that had happened in the garden, finishing with, “Why would he lie of such a thing? I think he must be telling the truth.”

“I agree my dear, I’ll go let the boy in. Please go grab the kettle, it should be ready soon, and maybe the lemon cake. It would be far better hear what he has to say over tea than without, in my opinion.” He strode outside with the key. It amazed her how calm her father was over situations like this when she had also seen him panic over shadows in the dark or a snapping twig in the garden. He had started telling her more, that he was at odds with a police inspector for many years who he had finally come to an agreement with, which is why they had to run so often. He still refused to say anything more than that, but it was better than nothing so she stopped asking more questions. She prepared the tea than left those questions in the kitchen so she could face the far more pressing ones that were waiting outside. 

“Your garden is very impressive, Monsieur. I love that rose bush over there, the color very unique.”

Cosette beamed, “Thank you, Monsieur. That bush has been my project this year. It has been here longer than we have been, but this is the first year it has bloomed.”

“Well it doesn’t seem to have any problems this year.” He chucked, looking at the plant that was half covered in large, yellow blossoms.

“Thank you. So, what are we going to do about this? I do not know about you gentlemen, but I want nothing more than to march up to Gillenormand’s front door and give him a piece of my mind, but I do not think that it would be wise at the moment.”

“I agree, Mademoiselle. I am furious, but I feel that we must think before we act in this situation.” He scratched at his arm for a moment. Cosette noticed that his sleeve was bulging slightly, as if it were hiding bandages. Would not be a surprise to her if he was injured after what had happened. She realized suddenly that this was probably his first time out of where ever he was staying since the barricade fell since it was still not long ago. He was probably risking being recognized or reopening his wound to come here. Which means that, even after everything that had happened to him, his main concern was fulfilling Marius’ last request to him. She knew that the two of them were close. How had he been doing, believing that his friend had died? Did he blame himself, since he was the one who brought him to the group? She had to stop thinking about to before she started crying or hugging the boy or something equally embarrassing.

However, the thought of Marius made her come to another important realization. “We need to let Marius know. He still thinks that you are dead, that all of you are dead.” She glanced up, “Is anyone else alive?”

“All of us made it out by some miracle idea that Enjolras had.” He said, smiling slightly. “It was a very close call though.”

“Telling Marius may be a challenge. I doubt that his grandfather would let a republican revolutionary see him. In fact, I believe that may be what caused him to resort to lying to begin with.” Her papa said.

Cosette thought for a moment before coming to an idea, “What if I brought a letter when I visit tomorrow? Gillenormand would not know until Marius already had read it. Would he recognize you handwriting?” 

Courfeyrac smiled brightly, “He better by now. May I borrow some paper and a pen?”

Cosette quickly went back inside, starting to get excited. When she returned, she noticed that there was a piece of cake on her plate that had not been there when she left and that both of the boys here eating more as well. Her papa gave her a small grin. She figured that he must really like Courfeyrac if he is giving him more cake. She placed the paper and ink in front of Courfeyrac before sitting down to enjoy her second slice as he wrote.

He finished it quickly, only taking up one page, before handing the letter to her. “I should be heading back. Thank you both so much.”

Her papa smiled, “You are welcome. You may want to come back tomorrow evening so you can to hear what happens. It will be quite the story, unless I am highly mistaken.”

Courfeyrac laughed before putting his coat back on and leaving quickly. Somehow the garden felt eerily quiet after the noise of a new voice. Cosette smiled as she placed the letter on her nightstand, her papa’s words still echoing through her head. For someone who has lived such a sheltered life and was such an obedient girl growing up, she quite enjoyed stirring up trouble sometimes. This was defiantly one of those times.


	2. Chapter 2

Needless to say, the letter caused a bit of an uproar. Marius was furious, Gillenormand was also furious and very demanding that Marius was not to contact Courfeyrac, and to make the long family drama short, Marius moved to finish his recovery at Rue Plumet. He was really in no condition to even be out of bed, but he was also in no condition to be fighting his grandfather constantly either. Even knowing that it was for the best, it broke Cosette’s heart to see her love being carried up the stairs to the spare room by her father because he could not even stand on his own. Courfeyrac visited that night as promised. The relief on both boy’s faces was enough to convince her that they had made the right decision in moving him, even with the one concern that was raging through her mind. Once Courfeyrac and Marius were fully convinced that the other was not a ghost, Courfeyrac insisted that Marius needed to rest, so he would leave. Marius refused to let him go until he promised that he would be back to tell him how they survived the barricades. Once that was settled, Courfeyrac started to leave until Cosette stopped him in the garden.

“Courfeyrac, may I have your ear for a moment?” she asked, catching up to him just before he reached the gate.

He seemed to realize from the look on her face that this was a serious matter because he immediately grabbed her arm and led her to the bench so they could sit. “Of course. What is wrong?”

“I am so worried that he will need a doctor again. We will do everything we can for him, but what if his fever returns, or his wound gets infected again? We cannot just go to a doctor and say, ‘Hi, we have a kid who tried to over through the king 2 weeks ago living in our guest room who just get a fever from his injuries from the national guard trying to kill him for treason.’ What will we do?” She was holding back tears at this point, the stress of the day combined with her genuine fear combining into an emotional mess. 

Courfeyrac listened patiently as she spoke, nodding in agreement until she finished. “I understand your concern. That is something that I was thinking when I saw the state that he is in too. Most of our group is staying at a safe house not far from here. We have two doctors in our ranks. At least one of them is always around. Here…” he pulled a scrap of paper and a pencil stub from his pocket started writing, “Come by if you need anything.”

“Thank you so much, Courfeyrac.” She said, accepting both the paper and the one-armed hug, relief filling her for the moment. 

Exactly two days later, she was extremely grateful that she had said something because here fears became true. Her father agreed to stay at his bedside to do what he could for him while she sprinted through the streets of Paris. She had never left the house by herself before and she felt that would have been very happy about this new freedom is under different circumstances. Soon she found herself knocking rapidly on a large door until a young man with round glasses opened it.

“Hello, may I help you?” he asked, clearly confused by her presence. 

“Is Monsieur Courfeyrac here?” She asked, still a little out of breath.

“No he is not. May I ask who is asking?”

“Of course, I am Cosette Fauchelevent.”

His eyes immediately widened in understanding and he quickly pulled her inside. “Did something happen?”

“Yes, Marius’s fever came back this morning and we cannot get it down. Courfeyrac said that there are two doctors here?”

He smiled slightly, “Of which I am one. I’m Combeferre. Pardon me for a moment, while I go get my bag.”

He flew up the stairway behind him, leaving her alone in the entry for a moment before he was coming back down just as fast. He was telling someone coming down a bit slower behind him to keep an eye out for Courfeyrac, and if you see this person tell them that this needs to be done, “And if Joly comes by today, send him over would you?”

“Of course, now go. It sounds urgent.”

Combeferre nodded before pulling on a coat and hat, Cosette would later learn that neither were actually his, and offered her his arm before they left again. He waked swiftly, but with an air of calmness. The whole way he asked a series of questions about the injury itself, exactly when his fever spiked, what had the first time it got bad like, how lucid was he when she left, and many other details about his condition, all of which he answered in as much detail as she could. She found herself questioning some of Marius’ description of Combeferre as they went. He was a bit intimidating, but not nearly as much as he claimed that he was. Marius had also called him “confusing”. She could not quite tell where that came from either, but this was still a very formal, business relationship in comparison to how Marius knew him. It could be that his ‘around his friends’ personality was different from his ‘doing his job’ personality.

Once they got to the house, Cosette led him upstairs to the spare room. He leaned over Marius for a moment and suddenly it was like a switch went off. He started ordering both Fauchelevents around with quick, stern words that bore no trace of the gentle questioning on the way over. This scrambling lasted over an hour before he apparently had everything set up to his liking and kicked them out of the room. Both of them could not help but feel relieved that they were no longer subject to Combeferre’s intensity. Apparently Marius was right about him being a bit scary sometimes. However there was also something about him, even at his scariest, that made her trust him completely. Even as he yelled for things down the stairs, he still seemed to treat Marius so gently, as if he was a sick child. There was something about his voice when he raised it that did not make her afraid of him, and she was normally terrified when anyone raised their voice, even her papa. Marius was right. He was very, very confusing.


	3. Joly, Bossuet, and Musichetta

The next morning arrived and Combeferre joined them for breakfast, looking like he had not slept a bit the night before. 

“His temperature has lowered,” he said, half collapsing in to the chair, “but it still is far higher than it should be. I will spend the day here, if you do not mind.”

“Of course. You are far more qualified than us.”

Combeferre nodded, then did not say another word the rest of the meal. Cosette made sure to give him an extra cup of coffee, which he brought upstairs with him. He father went up to his study to read as she started cleaning the kitchen. It was a mutual agreement in the Fauchelevent household that her father would make the food, since he was quite a good cook, and she would clean up afterwards. The only exception to this was that he would burn anything he tried to bake. Cosette loved baking, so she made any cakes or cookies that were found in the house. She was startled from her cleaning by a knock at the door. She checked to make sure that the plate that she had dropped into the water had not chipped, dried her hands and pushed her sleeves back down before answering the door.

Two men and a lady stood on the other side. The one with the cane and a kind smile spoke first, “Good morning! I am Joly, I believe that Combeferre asked for my assistance here.”

Cosette smiled, recognizing the name as the other doctor in the group. “Pleasure to meet you Joly, I am Cosette. Please come in. Poor Combeferre looks like he hasn’t slept in a week.”

The trio stepped in, “This is my dear friend Laigle and my darling Musichetta.”

Cosette smiled at them and was about to great them formally when Combeferre’s voice cut her off from up the stairs. “Joly, is that you?”

“Yes, it is me. I am coming.”

Joly immediately made his way upstairs, leaving the rest of the group alone downstairs.

“I apologize for my poor manners, but I was halfway through cleaning up after breakfast when you arrived and I fear the dishwater may be getting cold…”

Musichetta laughed, “Well then that just means that we have arrived just in time to help!”

Cosette was about to argue, but Laigle gave her a look, “Better doing dishes than dealing with both of them when they are is hospital mode.”

Cosette chucked, remembering the night before, nodded then led the way to the kitchen. She picked up the washing where she had left it as Musichetta found the towel and started drying and Laigle started opening the cabinets randomly trying to find the homes of the dished to put them away. This led to their conversation occasionally being interrupted by questions and answers about where things went, but they somehow got a lot of talking in around it. 

“So,” Musichetta started, which by now Cosette knew meant a sudden change in subject, “How are you holding up?”

“What do you mean?” Cosette asked, confused. She was not the one who got injured on the barricade. 

“Well, I know that it must be hard on you too. I know that it was for me… How much had Marius told you?”

Cosette smiled knowingly. Marius, even before the barricades, spoke of his friend quite often when they were together. He seemed particularly fond of this trio and spoke of them almost as much as he talked about Courfeyrac. “Enough to know that Joly and you are not the only people in a romantic relationship between you three.” 

Laigle laughed loudly as Musichetta nodded, “Good, good, that simplifies that conversation then. As I was saying, I was a mess the whole time they were out. I was so worried, I could barely move. Joly with is bad leg, he cannot run from things if they go bad, and poor Bossuet with his horrible luck, I was sure that you would get hurt in the strangest way possible. Then they came back, Bossuet barely holding Joly upright and suddenly I was the one who had to do medical care. I know better than anyone that you may not be the one with a fever and infected wounds, but I also know that it is not any easier being the caretaker. So, really my dear, are you holding up alright?”

“I… As well as I can I guess.” She paused a moment her father went out to garden together, waiting until the door had shut before continuing, “Marius has me worried sick, but I feel a lot better now that he is here and that Joly and Combeferre are caring for him too. I know that he can fight through this part of his healing if he got through the fever he had when he first was brought to his grandfather’s house. I am worried, but nearly as much as I was. It is just that…” she checked out the window to make sure that her father was out of earshot of the open window, “Just as Marius is getting the help that he needs, my papa seems to be falling apart. He has been moving slower the last few days and has been sleeping more. Picking at his food too, which is nothing like him. He always refuses to tell me anything until it is too late for me to do anything about it except try and pick up the pieces.”

“Well the good news about that is that I doubt that Joly and Combeferre will leave Marius along for longer than ten minutes until he is fully healed, especially with his fever coming back randomly. So between them, Bossuet and I, Courfeyrac, and probably the others too before long, especially if you keep feeding them, we should have a small team that can keep an eye on your father too.” Musichetta stated easily, as if it really were just that simple.

Laigle nodded in agreement, “You should not have to do this alone, and honestly all of the boys are going crazy staying in that house all the time. They would jump at the chance to have a mission again.”

Cosette stared at them for a minute, before shaking her head slightly, “Do you really think that they would do that?”

“Of course! Why wouldn’t they?” Musichetta said, drying the last cup.

“I do not know, I just… I have never had anyone I could go to for help before. I know that I can take care of things myself, but that may not be a good thing.”

Laigle nodded, placing the last cup on the shelf, “It can be and it cannot be. Honestly, this is definitely a time that it is not a good thing. You need a support system in times like this. However, your lack of one is not your fault. Just consider yourself adopted by Marius’ friend group, because you pretty much are. He talks about you enough that most of feel that we know you already, even if we have never met. Even Enjolras would drop everything to help you, even if he does grumble about how ridiculous your boyfriend is the whole time.” He went to shut the cabinet, only to have the door that he really should have figured out he needed to duck a bit for, nail him on the side of the head, opening a small scab right where it hit.

“That is the third time that he has reopened that cut. Joly gash that needed stitches is just about done healing, but that tiny cut is still bleeding every time I turn around.” The harshness of her words was negated by how gently she placed a clean handkerchief on the cut to stop the bleeding. She sighed heavily, “Really, darling, you cannot keep doing this to yourself. Go up and get one of the doctors to clean it up again.”

“Hey, things come in threes right?” He said cheerfully, holding the handkerchief to his head himself.

“I hope so. You deserve a break my love.” She kissed his check before pushing him toward the door.

The two girls sat in silence for a moment. “So, how about a distraction from our idiotic boyfriends with all of their injuries that they got by being idiots. Let’s have a girl’s day.”

Cosette glanced over at her, a small smile forming on her face, “What would we do on a ‘girl’s day’?”

A few hours later, the girls returned with lighter pockets and arms full of things. Cosette had a new hat and pair of gloves and a package that she dumped on her father’s lap.

“‘sette, my little lark, are you trying to tell me that I am old fashioned?” He asked, smiling softly with a slight twinkle in his eyes, begrudgingly trying on the new waistcoat. 

“No, I am saying that you do not buy new clothes unless it kills you. Besides, I think that it looks lovely on you.”

“It is very fashionable, Monsieur.” Laigle agreed, his head now partially covered with a bandage and his shoes strangely wet. 

“That shade of green does look very nice on you.” Joly added, “What did you end up with, my dear?”

Musichetta showed them her new hat before handing Joly a new pair of shoes, since he was still wearing his shoes that he wore on the barricade that were coated in a disgustingly think layer of blood, and a new hat to Laigle, who had lost his favorite one. Cosette slipped another rather large package into her lap.

“What is this?”

“A thank you present.”

Musichetta gave her a suspicious glance before opening the package to reveal a beautiful parasol that she had been admiring earlier, but was far too expensive for her to actually afford.

“Cosette, you did not need to buy me an obnoxiously overpriced parasol just because I mentioned that it was pretty.”

Cosette smiled, “Yes I did. You helped me so much today, it is the least I can do in return.”

“I did not do it to get anything in return. It is really not necessary.” She tried to give it back.

“Well, it is far too late to tell me that now that it is already done, so you need to take it!” Cosette said with an innocent looking smile, shoving it back. 

“How did I miss you buying it?”

Jean laughed, “She can be very sneaky if she wants to be.”

“Clearly, if Musichetta failed to spot it!” Joly laughed. “She never misses anything.”

“So, what have you all been up too? Has Marius shown any improvement?” Cosette asked.

Her papa laughed again, “Monsieur Laigle here helped me in the garden for a bit. I believe that he got more water on himself than the flowers, but it was quite appreciated.”

Laigle smiled and shrugged as Joly said, “I finally convinced Combeferre to rest. He is still asleep, I think. Marius is doing much better. His fever is still not quite gone, but is a lot better. He was able to laugh at Bossuet’s wet shoes squeaking, so I’d say he is showing good improvement. I believe that ‘ferre and I will be checking in on him daily until he is fully healed, just to make sure that this does not happen again with how unpredictable it is being.” He gave Cosette a bit of a look that said that Laigle had told him about her father too, and that they would be checking in on him as well.

Cosette smiled at the small group, “Thank you all, so much.”


	4. Jehan

“Good morning, Monsieur. May I help you?” Cosette called out from her spot on the bench in the garden. It had been just over a week since Maris had turned for the worse, and he was able join her and her papa for breakfast that morning, putting her in a wonderful mood. She had watching the young man wearing a strange blue tunic standing outside the gate for a few minutes now and figured that he must be looking for something.

He blushed slightly at being spotted, but still approached the gate “Pardon me Mademoiselle, but are you Cosette Fauchelevent?”

“Yes I am.” She said, smelling. Now she assumed that it must be one of the Les Amis.

“Oh, perfect, I am Jean Prouvaire.”

“Oh, Jehan! Marius and Courfeyrac have told me so much about you. It is a pleasure to finally meet you.” She quickly opened the gate with the key that she was now keeping in her pocket whenever she was in the garden, with the new frequency of visitors.

“The pleasure is all mine, Cosette.” He smiled brightly at her before looking around for a moment, “Courfeyrac was not kidding when he said that this is most lovely garden in all of Paris.”

Cosette beamed, “Thank you, my father and I work very hard on it. Would you like to explore?”

His face lit up, “Would you mind?”

“Of course not.”

They wandered through the garden together for well over an hour, taking about the flowers, the group, and books. Cosette quickly came to the conclusion that Jehan would be a wonderful friend. While she loved Musichetta, Courfeyrac, and the others, they could be very loud and energetic, especially when they were together in a group. Jehan was far more quiet and reserved. She felt that he could be loud, he just chose to not be. She found the quiet brightness comforting and peaceful. They both loved poetry, though he was far more knowledgeable than her. Both of them also loved flowers and joked about having stains in all of their books from pressing flowers in them. Her father joined them for a bit and ended up inviting him to stay for lunch, which he accepted with a small smile. As they ate outside, the conversation turned to caring for the garden.

“My poor plants. I had quite a few in pots in my apartment. After the barricades, I was unable to walk for over two weeks, so unable to get to my apartment. By the time I could get over there, most of the poor things were quite dead. I was able to revive a few, but the majority were long gone.” He seemed quite sad about the loss.

“Well, if you are planning on starting again, you can take any clippings that you want from us.” Her papa said kindly.

“Really?”

“Of course. Just off of this conversation, I know that you can care for them well. No reason that you shouldn’t.”

“Thank you so much, Monsieur!” 

“You are welcome to come and visit anytime.” Cosette added, “I will need someone to talk about the Iliad with now that I know that I need to read it.”

“You can borrow my copy if you want. I can bring it by tomorrow if that is alright with you.”

“That would be wonderful. Thank you. It is in French, right?”

Jehan laughed, “Yes, I mean, I have a copy in Greek too, but I do not think that you would find that very useful.”

Cosette chuckled, “No, definitely not.”

The next morning, Marius came downstairs for dinner to find Cosette and Jehan fully spread over the couch, both wearing flower crowns and reading the Iliad together, Jehan in Greek and Cosette in French. He watched them for a moment, occasionally pausing to discuss certain bits before falling back into silence and continuing on in the story. He carefuly slipped past them into the dining room to sit, smiling at Monsieur Jean. He knew that Courfeyrac, Joly, Bossuet, Musichetta, and even Combeferre had all also befriended her. He was so glad that she had them now, even if ‘fere still confused him.


	5. Bahorel

“Hey Jehan! If ‘ferre around?” A loud voice pulled Cosette and Jehan from their discussion to face the man outside the gate who was wearing the brightest red waistcoat Cosette had ever seen and looked like he had been hit by a carriage. 

Jehan seemed to know the man, as he went to open the gate for him saying, “My goodness Bahorel, who did not get on the wrong side of this time?”

“Just a national guardsman who seemed a little too close to the truth for my liking. I made sure that he forgot.” He sat beside them on the steps into the garden from the house. “So you must be Cosette! I am Bahorel.”

Cosette smiled, recognizing the name, “Pleasure to meet you, Monsieur. I believe that Combeferre is upstairs. Do you want me to go get him?”

Jehan nodded, “Yes please.”

So Cosette dashed upstairs and made her way to the room that Marius was still occupying. “Combeferre, there is a Monsieur Bahorel in the garden who is looking a little worse for the wear.”

Marius laughed, “Is he ever not?”

“Sadly, no.” Combeferre sighed, gathering up what he needed, “Never.”

Cosette and Combeferre made their way downstairs together, but she went to the kitchen instead of the garden to gather up some odds and ends for lunch with her papa.

“These kids always seem to show up around meal times.” He grumbled, though Cosette could see the glint in his eyes that said that he did not actually mind. They made their way outside, bearing enough food to feed a small army.

“Is that strawberry cake?” Bahorel asked, presently getting bandages around his left wrist, “That is my favorite!”

“You just like to color red.” Jehan said, not even glancing up from his book.

“I genuinely like the taste. Strawberries are delicious, and so is cake, it can’t go wrong really.”

“Whatever you say, darling.” Jehan said instinctively, before flinching and glancing at Cosette and her father before relaxing when he saw that she was actively trying not to laugh as he smiled slightly. 

Combeferre, who was oblivious to the situation, commented “Maybe if you didn’t wear the most obnoxious colors possible, you would not be recognized as easily.”

“Oh but ‘ferre, red is such a lovely color. It goes well with my completion.”

Cosette smiled, “It does look very nice on Monsieur, but it is not exactly subtle.”

“Thank you, Cosette.” Jehan said, clearly having had this conversation before and thankful for the new backup. 

“Says the boy currently wearing a medieval tunic.”

“At least it is not the brightest shade of scarlet known to mankind.”

Cosette silently agreed that the dark blue was far less likely to stand out in a crowd, realistically, even with the oddness of it. Combeferre finally finished and collapsed in the seat next to her, reaching for the tea, giving her a look that she assumed meant that this was a regular occurrence. The conversation finally started to move from Bahorel’s determination to wear red by the time they were done eating. He seemed to be quite the story teller, and told them story after story, most of which were actually true according to the others. Some of them made her father look a little nervous about who he had invited into his garden, but Cosette found them quite funny, even if a little violent and illegal at times. The stories also told her that he was kind. He defended suffering people and helped them whenever he could. Her favorite story was of how he challenged a man to a duel because he had threatened a young prostitute. She knew that her mother had been one herself before she died, that wicked woman who still haunted her nightmares some nights, even though she had long since forgotten what she actually looked like, would never let her forget it. She could not help but wonder if her mother would still be with them now, laughing in the garden eating strawberry cake, if she had someone like Bahorel to defend her. She shook herself from her thoughts in time to hear the ending of a story where he got into a fight with a man because his girlfriend, who he happened to be friends with, asked Bahorel to walk her home because he had gotten drunk and threatened her.

“I wish all men fought for the same reasons that you do instead of silly things. I think that the world would be a far better place.” Cosette said, smiling brightly at him.

She seemed to hit the one thing that he was humble about, because instead of a loud remark, he just shrugged a said, “Well someone has to do it right?” before going right into the next story.


	6. Feuilly

Things had started to get out of control in the city over the week following her introduction to Bahorel. Crime seemed to triple, no one dared leave the house alone, and even fiercely independent Musichetta did not go out without one of the boys with her. Courfeyrac said that he thought that it was the excess energy from the failed revolution working itself out before things could truly go back to normal. No matter the reason, Cosette did not even sit in the garden after dark and always had her papa or one of the boys go with her when she left. One day as things were still raging outside, Cossete had ventured back to the safe house with Joly and Bossuet after Marius’ daily temperature check. Musichetta and Marius’ friend Eponine, who she realized half way through the conversation was the same girl who she had known as a child, were sitting with her in the living room. 

When she mentioned this to Eponine, she just laughed, “Took you long enough.” She sobered suddenly, “I am so sorry…”

“Eponine, it is fine. We were children, you did not know any better. Doesn’t every little kid want to be just like their parents? I forgave you for all of that before I even left.” Cosette said firmly.

Eponine smiled, “Thank you.”

“Do I get to know what just happened?” Musichetta asked, looking between the two girls.

Eponine snorted, “As long as it is clear between us, it is dead now. No need to re-dig the grave.”

Cossete laughed, “To quote my papa with the past, some things are better unheard, better unsaid.”

“You are not telling Marius right?” Eponine asked, sounding nervous.

“Eponine, at this point, I think that my poor brain has blocked all the memories from my childhood. Sometimes one surfaces for a day, then fades into oblivion again. I have no intention of ‘re-digging that grave’ just to tell him something has no effect on the present.” Cossete said, not wanting to bring up that she did still have nightmares about her mother a least once a month, but even that could be explained to Marius when the time came without bringing Eponine into it.

“Speaking of the present,” Musichetta interrupted again, “You, my dear, should be heading home. It will be starting to get dark soon. Hey boys! Can someone walk Cossete home?” The last part was yelled in the direction of the other room where at least some of the boys were playing cards. 

“You can spend the night, so don’t worry about getting back.” Cossete added.

“I can.” One of the boys yelled back, entering the room with a bright smile, “I just won, so perfect time to leave while I’m ahead.”

Cossete recognized him as the man that Combeferre had given instructions to when she came over to get help for Marius. It felt like ages ago.

“Perfect, Cossete, have you met Feuilly yet?”

“In passing, but not formally. Pleasure to meet you.” Cossete smiled. She knew a bit about him just off of what the other said.

“You as well, Cossete.” He responded, offering her a hand up from the couch. The couch in question had broken legs so it sat very low to the ground. She was very grateful for the help, knowing that there was no way to gracefully get up from there in a full skirt. His hand was rough and callused, which she had expected since he is a factory worker. She said goodbye to the girls and a quick farewell to the boys before they were walking on full alert through the angry city. 

“So, how have you been through all of this?” She asked, trying to dispel some of the tension around them.

“Okay, I guess. I have not been able to go back to work since everyone there knew that I was, well, involved in that. I do not like being dependent on others, but I do not have much of a choice right now. Until I can go back to work I am completely reliant on my friends. I know that they do not care but…”

Cossete nodded as he faded out. An idea suddenly came to her. “You wouldn’t happen to know how to fix shutters would you?”

“I’m not an expert, but I know a bit.”

“Perfect! One of the ones on the house doesn’t shut right and I do not want my papa getting up on that rickety old latter to fix it himself. How much do you want to be paid?”

“You are not paying me to fix a shutter. After everything you have done to help my friends…”

“You just said that you are out of work, so I am giving you work.”

They argued the whole rest of the way, making her father look up when they reached the gate because they were still bickering loudly.

“Do I want to know?”

“Feuilly here is out of work, so I was wondering if we could PAY him to finally fix that shutter. Also, he needs to spend the night since well.” She gestured out to the quickly darkening streets. 

Her father nodded, “Of course, thank you so much for walking her back. I’ll show you the problem in the morning.”

“You do not need to pay me, especially not if I’m spending the night. That can be my payment for lodging.”

Cossete and her father shared a look. He placed a hand on the younger man’s shoulder, “First of all, my door is always open for you all to spend the night, especially right now. If you cannot accept that, than it is payment for getting my daughter home safe. Either way, you are getting paid separately for the shutter.”

In the end, the Fauchelevent did pay Feuilly for working on the shutters, along with a bunch of other odd jobs that they had been putting off for a while. He became a common prescience around the house through the next few weeks. Courfeyrac hugged her one day, thanking her because apparently Feuilly was the happiest he had been since the barricades because he finally had some form of income again and did not feel as helpless anymore. She walked with a spring in her step the rest of the day, overjoyed that she was able to make someone happy.


	7. Enjolras

Late one night, Cosette was sitting in the living room reading a bit since she could not sleep when a sharp knock startled her. She stood carefully. All of the windows were shuttered that the door was latched shut, but she still felt that it would be wise to get her father. The nock started again and a desperate voice whispered just loud enough for her to hear, “Cosette, Monsieur Fauchelevent, please.” 

Cosette suddenly launched to the door and flung it open revealing Courfeyrac and another young man who she did not recognize. The boys flew inside, the strange man shutting the door and locking it again before she had fully registered what had happened. She turned to Courfeyrac and managed out, “Courfeyrac, what on earth?”

He smiled faintly, slowly sinking into the couch in, still very jumpy. “Enjolras and I went over to the Café Musain to try to re-obtain some of our groups materials. We have been keeping an eye on it and we thought that they finally stopped guarding it. Turns out they had just lessened the guard, not completely removing it. They gave us quite the chase. We lost them only a few minutes ago and I figured that this was a far shorter run than to the house. Less of a chance of them finding us before we got to safety. Can we stay?”

“Of course. You know better than to even need to ask.” She turned to the other young man, “It is an honor to finally meet you Monsieur Enjolras. I have heard so much about you.”

He managed a faint smile, “Likewise, Cosette.”

He shook her hand like she was another young gentleman who he had been introduced too, not a young women who was only dressed in her nightgown. She could not say that she was surprised, with everything that she had heard about him.

“So, did you retrieve what you were looking for?” She asked, joining Courfeyrac on the couch as Enjolras as on the other one across form them. 

“Oh yes.” Enjolras said, brightening a bit and pulling papers from inside his coat as Courfeyrac pulled a few boxes from his bag. “Our map, some pamphlets, our meeting notes, our funds. Turns out that little gap in the wall hid our stuff well.”

“Wonderful!” she said, picking up one of the pamphlets and flipping through it.

“I was mostly worried about hour meeting notes.” He continued, picking up the book, “our names are in here. Would be a pity if we survived the barricades only to be beheaded for treason.” 

“That would be rather upsetting. I just met you all, I don’t want to lose you so quickly.” Cosette said, feeling a twist of fear at the thought. The danger that these boys were still in suddenly hitting her. Courfeyrac placed his hand on hers for a moment, seeming to pick up on her distress.

“We are not going anywhere. We have yet to be recognized on the streets and it was so dark tonight that there is no way that they could have seen us clearly. We are safe.” He said, calming her slightly.

“How is Marius?” Enjolras asked, changing the subject.

“He is healing well. He is able to spend most of his time downstairs now, instead of in bed. It is such a relief.”

“Oh good, I was so worried…” He faded out, his eyes darkening a bit.

Courfeyrac shifted a bit, “Enjy? What has been bothering you? You have barely said a word since the barricades. This is the most I have heard you talk since that morning.”

He looked up at them, like he was trying to tell if he really trusted them with his thoughts. He seemed to finally decide that he did because he took a deep breath and said, “If any of us died, it would be my responsibility.”

Courfeyrac sighed, like he had been expecting that answer, “We knew what we were doing, Enjolras. Our lives are our own responsibility. That was a risk that we are all willing to take. We knew the consequences, you cannot blame yourself.”

He shook his head, “I was the leader.”

“Of a group of men who could have chosen to not join you.”

“Besides,” Cosette added, “you all did all get out, right? From what I heard from the others, it was your idea that got them away safely. They chose to follow you for a reason, it seems to me that you have proven that they made the right choice.”

“I should not have even started it. I jumped at the chance too quick. I was irrational.”

“Even the most well laid plans have pieces that we cannot control. You could not control the people who did not join us. Those who did, you controlled perfectly, it is not your fault that there was less of us than expected.”

Enjolras shook his head again a voice from the stairs made them jump, “They are right Enjolras.”

They all turned at once to see Marius standing in the doorway, smiling faintly. He limped over and sat on the other side of Cosette.

“Marius, I am so sorry.” Enjolras said, voice cracking.

“You have nothing to apologize for. I do not blame you a bit.” He noticed the papers on the table between them and picked up the same pamphlet that Cosette had look at earlier. “So what are we doing with this old stuff? You think that we will get back to meetings, in time of course.”

He seemed eager to start planning again and Courfeyrac had also brightened a bit at the idea of meeting again. Enjolras seem conflicted, “I… I do not know. I thought that we would permanently disband for our protection, but if everyone is willing to risk it.”

“Of course they are, have you met our group?” Courfeyrac said, looking genuinely excited now.

Enjolras had a glint in his eyes that was not there before. Suddenly he looked up and Cosette saw the Enjolras that her love and her friends had followed unquestioningly into a war. ‘So,’ she thought silently, ‘that is Enjolras.’ There was a fire in him that had sprung back to life and it was like he became a different person in a seconded. He sat straighter, his eyes seemed more alive, he spoke with more purpose, and he all around behaved less like a child who had gotten lost in the wood and more like the person she had expected from all that she had heard. She smiled as the boys discussed what they would need to do to regroup, the new precautions they would, how they would contact the few who had finally braved going back to their own apartments. 

“What about Jehan?”

“Joly should be by tomorrow.”

“Has anyone even heard from Grantaire?”

“Where will we meet though?”

Cosette smiled and spoke up, “You could hold at least the first meeting here. It could double as a ‘look we are alive’ party?” She was only half joking for that last part. 

“Yes! A party!” Courfeyrac seemed a little too enthusiastic about it.

Cosette smiled, “Well, if we are going to be up for a while, I want some tea.”

The boys all nodded, so she made some. They went through a full pot and far too much sugar. They all ended up falling asleep on the floor, having abandoned the couch hours before for easier access to the table. They all woke up in beds, hours later than any of them would ever sleep in to normally. They all made their way downstairs to a pot of fresh coffee and breakfast and her papa’s gentle teasing that they had kept him up with their chatter all night. She smiled up at him, knowing that he had carried each of them to bed and cleaned up their tea cups and papers. Enjolras tried to apologize, but he just laughed and ruffled his hair. “It’s fine kid.”

“Wait aren’t you the guy who joined us at the barricade?”

And that is how Cosette found out that her father snuck on to the barricade and saved everyone. It was possibly the most uncomfortable she had ever seen her father. Marius was in shock, because “Wait, that means… You… How did you even know where my grandfather lived?”

Courfeyrac decided that this would be good time to announce, “Just so you know, some of us have been betting on how long it would take for Marius to figure this out. Enjolras, I would like to thank you, my dear. Bahorel now owes me 20 francs.” 

Cosette could not hold holding herself together anymore and started laughing the harder than she ever remembered laughing before. Thankfully, that relived some of the awkwardness that came with this new information. Everyone seemed to get along better after everything got cleared up too, which was a relief for Cosette. Marius and her father’s constant avoiding each other was getting very old.


	8. Grantaire

They planned the meeting and party for a few days after that chaotic evening. The day came with clear skies and the realization some of the boys had already shown up to help set up. Enjolras had pulled her aside soon after he arrived, gave her a letter and some directions, then she was off on her first mission for the Les Amis. She got to her destination fairly quickly considering the distance. She knocked on the door, slightly nervous being alone in the sketchy apartment building. 

“Can I help you?” A paint covered man asked gruffly.

“I have a letter for Monsieur Grantaire.” She said, pulling it out of her pocket.

“That’s me. Who are you and who sent it?”

“I am Cosette Fauchelevent and the letter is from Monsieur Enjolras.”

He seemed to relax significantly. “Oh, okay. Come in!”

She handed him the letter before stepping into the apartment. It was scarcely furnished. The only things that made it look like someone actually lived there was the half-made bed, a chair, a small table, a huge easel on a pile of tarps right next to the window, and close to a dozen canvases featuring various subjects laying against the wall. She admired the canvases as he read the letter that told him about the meeting and party that night and that he was expected to at least show up. Also, there was a little scribble from Courfeyrac saying that if he could bring some wine that would be wonderful. 

He finally looked up to see her admiring the canvas that he had been working on. He chuckled slightly, “I never thought that I would ever get Gavroche to sit still long enough to paint him. Only good thing about him getting hurt.”

Cosette smiled. The portrait of the young boy gazed back at her, all wild curls, blazing eyes, and witty smile. She knew that the boy had survived his injuries by some miracle and milked the bandages for sympathy as far as he could. She had seen him around before when her and her father were out giving to those who needed it. She had actually given to him several times, but he never seemed to sit still long enough for her to actually talk to him. “Your work is very impressive.”

“Thank you.”

“Do you think that he would like to come?” She asked, pointing to the boy in the painting.

“If there is free food for him, it is not a question. Turn around for a moment, I need to change into something clean. I would have you stand outside, but I can hear my neighbor coming. He is not someone that can be trusted alone with a pretty, young maiden, you know.”

Cosette nodded and turned around quickly, also hearing the staggering footsteps outside, “Thank you, Monsieur.”

“Please just call me Grantaire, Mademoiselle.”

“If you call me Cosette.”

“Fair enough.” They were both silent for a moment. “I’m done.” 

She turned around as he finished pulling on a deep, green waistcoat and fixed his cravat before offering her his arm, which she accepted. As they walked and talked Cosette quickly came to the conclusion that her new companion was brash and quite rough around the edges, but was also so very good. The rough way he spoke hid the caring message of his words. He spoke of the rest of the group like a fond but still exasperated older brother. He called them idealistic fools with so much fondness. She quickly found herself growing fond of the slightly grumpy clinic. 

They stopped at a small wine shop that was the best in the city, according to Grantaire. He bought quite a few bottles, most of which ended up in Cosette’s basket. Once they had left, he led them through the city to the elephant statue. It did not take long for them to spot a familiar blur of child energy. 

“Hey, Gavroche!” Grantaire shouted, causing the blur to stop right in front of them. The boy’s arm was still in a sling, and he had bandages bulging beneath his shirt, but he probably did not need them at this point. He was just using them to get a few extra coins from sympathy. Grantaire smiled and continued at a normal volume, “We are going on an adventure kid. We’ll explain when we get there, aright?”

Gavroche nodded eagerly, “Is Ms. Cosette coming on the adventure too?”

“Well the ‘adventure’ is to my house, so I certainly hope so. Grantaire and you are helping me and my father with something.” She said, understanding that they could not talk about any of the Les Amis in such a public place. 

The kid looked confused for a moment his face lit up with understanding and he jumped on Grantaire’s back. He stuck his head between the two grown ups’ and whispered, “Is it about our friends?”

Cosette gave a small nod, causing him to smile even bigger. Grantaire also started to smile. “I can’t believe that we are doing this craziness again.”

It did not take them long to get back to Rue Plumet. As they approached the street, Gavroche jumped off Grantaire’s back to see what Feuilly was doing on the ladder.

“Grantaire, how much would a portrait be? I would like to get one made of my father for his birthday, which is coming up.” Cosette asked, taking advantage of the short moment where it was just the two of them.

“Well taking off the ‘person that I like’ discount…” He gave her a number that was far too low, in her opinion.

“Grantaire…” She started, sternly.

“Please, Cosette, you have helped my friends. That means that I help you. Also, business is going well for me right now, so it will not hurt me to make one painting at a lower cost.” He sounded genuinely serious, which was strange for him.

“If you are sure that is alright.” Cosette said, not wanting to take advantage of his friendship.

“Of course, perfectly fine.” He responded, some of the gruffness returning as they argued.

They were interrupted by Marius yelling across the garden, “Cosette, just so you know, Bahorel has already requested the strawberry cake.”

“Of course he has.” Cosette said, patting Grantaire’s arm before letting go to make her way into the house, “You are helping me with the food, right?”

“Of course, darling.” Marius said brightly, kissing her cheek.

“Wait, he is helping with the food?” Grantaire yelled in mock terror, causing Marius to role his eyes.

“Better me than you, R.” 

“You know, I probably shouldn’t argue that.”


	9. Les Amis de l'ABC

The super serious secret meeting that Enjolras had been constantly stressing about for the previous few days lasted about as long as it took write down who was present and take a vote about not disbanding. Before the girls knew it, the boys were loudly making their way to the garden. 

“Well, that was fast.” Cosette said dryly, suddenly rushing to finish putting a glaze on the last cake.

“I know! Enjolras must either be too scattered after everything to plan much of anything or really, really, hungry.” Éponine agreed, wearing a dress she borrowed from Cosette. Cosette felt that it looked far better on her friend than it did on her.

“Hey boys!” Musichetta, yelled into the room that the boys were vacating, “Where do you think that you are going? The food isn’t going to magically get out there by itself you know.”

Joly and Laigle were the first to reach the kitchen. Both of them kissed Musichetta on the lips and both Cosette and Éponine on the cheek before picking up plates to bring out.

“Cosette are you alright? You are quite warm.” Joly said, feeling her forehead with the back of his hand.

“I am fine, just spent a little too much time over the oven.” Cosette assured him, placing a small bread loaf into his hands so he could still walk with his cane and gently shoved him towards the door so Marius could get in to help.

It did not take long for everything to get out of the kitchen and into the garden. Cosette was the last person out, placing the strawberry cake directly in front of Bahorel, who in return gave her a bone crushing hug and a kiss on the forehead. Jehan, who was next to him, placed a beautiful flower crown on her head and a glass of wine in her hand. She noticed that the other girls also had lovely crowns. 

“So, have you started the Odyssey yet?” He asked eagerly, pulling her into the chair next to her.

They discussed the book for a bit as they ate the stew that her papa had made before little Gavroche came up with puppy dog eyes, asking if he could have a flower crown too. She took the chance to slip away and visit the table where Enjolras, Combeferre, and Éponine were sitting, talking about things happening in the city. 

“Pardon me, but may I have a slice of the lemon bread?” she asked, gesturing to the loaf on their table.

“Of course! You made it after all.” Enjolras said, placing a slice on her plate. 

“Joly said that it felt like you had a bit of a fever earlier. May I?” Combeferre raised his hand to feel her forehead. Cosette bent over, lifting her crown for a moment. “Well, you are fine now.”

“You did tell him that it was just working in the kitchen for so long.” Éponine said. “It is nothing worse than the oven.”

“You are probably right.” Combeferre agreed.

Cosette smiled and turned to move to the next group, but Enjolras suddenly grabbed her arm. “I cannot thank you enough for convincing me to rebuild our group.” 

“You are very welcome, Enjolras. Out of curiosity, are women allowed to join?” She had found she had enjoyed her involvement with the group. They were all such good people and she agreed full heartedly with what they were fighting for. 

Éponine was nodded, “I would like to join too. I fought on the barricades, might as well join for the long run.” 

“Not at the moment, but that can be changed. We will just need to vote on it next meeting. I cannot see any of the guys having a problem with it though, so consider it a yes.” 

She smiled brightly, before noticing that Feuilly was working still. “Excuse me for a moment while I make sure that he actually sits for over minute tonight.” She said, shaking her head slightly as the others laughed.

“Good luck with that.” Combeferre said as she left.

“Feuilly, take a break. You never stop moving I swear. Try and get some of the strawberry cake before Bahorel eats the whole thing himself. Have a glass of wine. It is a party, my friend, not work time.”

Feuilly, who was trying to fix a trellis, just smiled faintly and said, “I will be there in a moment.”

She sighed, nudging his hands way from the trellis with her plate. “Feuilly, it will be there tomorrow. Now go have fun. Combeferre and Éponine are talking about that strike at the lace factory that you mentioned the other day. You should go talk to them.”

He finally left the broken lattice alone, brightening a bit. “I guess, if you insist.”

She rolled her eyes and made sure the he actually had sat down and started taking before she moved to where Grantaire was sitting by himself with a sketchbook in his lap. She nudged a cookie into his hand, which he accepted.

“Are you alright?” she asked, worried that something was wrong since he had separated himself from the group.

“Oh yes, I am fine. Just need a break from the noise every now and then. I think that I have enough sketches of your father for me to get a good portrait, since it sounds like it is a surprise.”

“Perfect!” She glanced at the sketches, “You are amazing. Thank you so much.”

He smiled, “Thank you, Cosette.”

“I hate to be intrusive, but are you planning a portrait of Enjolras too?”

Grantaire bushed slightly, “I… No, it is for a personal project.”

Cosette smiled, knowingly, “You should go join him and the others.”

“Oh, no. I annoy him. No point starting an argument, really.”

“Have you ever spoken with him about anything that is not politics?” she asked, feeling that she already knew the answer.

“Well… Now that I think about it, I don’t think so.”

“Maybe you should!”

“Well he doesn’t talk about anything else. Do you have any ideas since you’re so smart?” He grumbled.

“Well, there is a peach pie and some lemon bread at that table. Go up, ask if you can have a slice of something, sit with them, ask what he thinks of some of the treats I made and then just follow the conversation wherever it leads.”

“That actually is smart.” He said, sounding impressed, as he stood up.

“Or show him some of your drawings of him. They are very impressive.”

“No, that is not smart.” He joined their table, gabbed a slice of the pie, and started talking to Enjolras about something that was definitely not drawings, but also did not seem to be the still going discussion of the strike between the others at the table. 

Cosette smiled to herself, proud of her hard work of being a good hostess and making sure that everyone was happy. She had never hosted a party before and was finding that she quite enjoyed it. She finally also stood and wandered off, finding Marius and Courfeyrac on a bench. Marius beamed up at her, “Hello, ‘sette.”

“Hello, mind if I join you boys?”

“Of course not.” They shifted to make enough room for her to fit her skirt.

“So, what do you think?” she asked, wondering if she was doing as well as she thought she was.

“I think that you made more food today than should be possible.” Marius said, handing her a plate of fruit and sweets that she had asked him to save for her, knowing that she would be unable to try everything otherwise.

“I think that you just set up Enjolras and Grantaire.” Courfeyrac said, smiling at her.

“Neither of you are wrong.” She said, chuckling. 

“You seem oddly okay with you being in the only relationship here that is actually legal.”

“Why should I care? As long as everyone is happy and not being obvious enough to get into trouble, I have no reason to have a problem with it. Besides, I have reasons to think that my papa prefers gentlemen as well, so it would rather hypocritical of me to disapprove of it.” Cosette said, sipping her wine. 

Marius nodded, glancing over at her father, who was laughing at something Bossuet just said. “I can see that.”

“Well now that that is cleared up,” Courfeyrac said before leaning over and whispering, “what is your recommendation for getting Combeferre’s attention?”

She smiled at him, “I think you already do, he just doesn’t realize that he has yours. He does not seem to be the best at just reading people, you know. I would just flat out tell him, if you get the chance. I don’t think that a guessing game would end well for either of you.”

Marius snorted a little, clearly finding this amusing.

“Or sneak into his garden in the middle of the night and start reciting a love poem you wrote without properly introducing yourself. That seems to work surprisingly well.” Cosette added, giving Marius a look to make him stop laughing at his best friend’s love life.

“Oh, I wasn’t that bad!”

Cosette and Courfeyrac shared a look, smiling and shaking their heads. She sighed happily. Marius was alive and well at her side and her friends surrounded her. Her papa caught her eye from the other side of the garden. They shared a smile as the scent of the fresh baked treats mixed with the smell of the flowers. There was once a world that she longed to see outside this garden. She felt like it was waiting for her, and that she had to go find it. However, that world actually found here right where she was, right in this garden. This is where Marius found her, where Courfeyrac came looking for her, where all of her friends came, now almost every day. Her entire world was once again nestled within the walls of her garden. A gentle kiss on her forehead pulled her back to the present. She smiled up at Marius, who was looking at her the same way that he had on the night that they meet, like his world was also suddenly completed. He suddenly got up and knelt in front of her.

“Cosette Fauchelevent, I was going to wait to ask you, but there will never be a moment more perfect than this. Will you marry me?”

Cosette gasped, and nodded, unable to speak for a moment. “Yes!” she finally got out, “Oh, yes, yes, yes!” 

The loud cheers of her friends filled the garden as Marius sat beside her again and kissed her. In her life, she now had a world that was perfect and whole, not missing a thing. The past did not matter anymore, just the bright light of hope in the future, shining around her and all the people she loved, shining down into the garden. Her heart was full of love, and the night was bright as day, and she knew that no one in this garden would ever go away, and it wasn’t a dream. It was her life.


End file.
